Sparks for Sheperds
by ShaduofTexitar
Summary: Rating to be safe. They were first intoduced to him on the TV, and now, he has fled to Domino looking for help.
1. Sheperd

Chapter 1

Sheperd

Yugi and all his friends sat in front of the TV. It was almost eight and the reason that everyone was staying so late was because they lost track of time. They were watching Star Search. It was the finals. And everyone was very good.

"Man, I wish I could do some of this stuff," Joey commented.

"Well, you can't," Tea told him.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Tristan stated.

"Shush, the last contestant is about to start," Yugi quieted his friends.

A boy walked out on stage and sat down at the piano on stage. He looked about 18 years old. He was tall and skinny. He had brown hair and gray blue eyes. He wore a black overcoat, brownish gray pants, and a navy blue shirt. He looked a lot like Kaiba.

"Is that, Kaiba?" Joey asked in astonishment.

"No, but he does look similar," agreed Yugi.

"Besides, why would Kaiba be sitting down to a piano?" Tea pointed out.

"True," agreed Joey.

The boy had background music with his performance, which was now permitted with musical entries. It started out with the sound of the ocean. Then that faded away as a beat bed came in. Then, the boy started. The background music was semi-soft. The boy's playing was incredible. An electric guitar played a little, then he started in again. He seemed to play the same thing over and over again, but the background would change. But that didn't matter because what he did play was extremely complex. He would play for a while longer then the ocean sound would come back and then he'd start to play again. When he stopped, everyone was silent, even the judges. They were stunned at his performance. One judge gave him a five, so did the next one, and the next one. In fact he got straight fives from all the judges. Then when it went to the audience, they gave him a perfect score as well.

"Menno Sheperd is our next big star," the host said. "I mean, talk about a child prodigy, 14 years old and he's able to play like a pro."

"14!? He's only 14?!" Tea couldn't believe what she had heard. "He looks like he's more like 18, but not 14."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Yugi agreed.

There's something very strange about him, Yami observed.

/Really? How could you tell?/ Yugi asked the pharaoh.

But the pharaoh didn't answer.

"Oh my goodness! I should've been home hours ago!" Joey shrieked, looking at the clock. "Gotta split, see ya."

And with that he was out the door.

"I'd better be gettin' home too," Tristan stood up.

Tea stood up with him.

"It was fun," she told Yugi.

Yugi waved goodbye and then went to his room to talk to Yami.

/Man, he was really good. I wonder where he's from./

Hmm, there was diffidently something different about him

/Oh Yami, give it a rest/

No, I won't give it a rest until we find out about this boy

Yugi rolled his eyes as his yami went on.

"Good night Yami," he said, and then he fell fast asleep.

Two months pasted and everyone forgot about Star Search. Then one day at school there was a bunch of ruckus as everyone talked in a jumbled mess. They were standing in a large group in the middle of the hall and nearly every student in the gang's class was there.

"Come on you guys, I don't know about you, but I've got a class to get to," Joey growled.

A small path way was opened for the gang, who squeezed past. They sat down just as the bell rang and chuckled as everyone scrambled inside the room. The teacher walked in.

"Settle down, settle down," he shushed the class. "Now, as I'm sure you've all heard, we've got a new student. He prefers that we call him Sheperd, for now. So please meet Sheperd. Now, I know what you're thinking and before you say a thing, he's 14."

A boy who was tall and skinny with brown hair and gray blue eyes who also looked old for his age, walked into the room wearing a blue school uniform. He wore it much like Joey's, though this boy's was very baggy and lose, like it almost didn't fit.

"Yugi, would you please raise your hand?" the teacher asked.

Yugi raised his hand. It was barely visible over all the heads.

"Would you mind showing Sheperd the ropes of Domino?" the teacher asked.

Yugi nodded his head.

"Okay then Sheperd, you'll sit beside Yugi and he's going to show the ropes," the teacher told Sheperd

Sheperd said nothing as he walked back to sit beside Yugi. Yugi felt sort of uneasy around him. He was so quiet and stern. He looked like he was a moving statue, unable to change anything but his position. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were completely different. His eyes were stern and cold. And yet, they were also sort of sad at the same time, though you had to look very closely at him to tell that.

Yugi, I sense something different about this boy

/Oh Yami, give it a rest/

At lunch, he sat outside. He ate his lunch quickly and then pulled out a black book and started to read it.

"Well, he seems to be very quiet," Joey mentioned as he looked out the window of the commons.

"Uh-oh, here comes trouble," Yugi pointed to a group of bullies that were walking towards Sheperd.

"They always have to beat up the new kid on the first day at lunch," Tristan growled.

"And what's worse is that they've never been defeated, not even by me, Tristan, or Kaiba," Joey growled.

"So they're going to beat up Sheperd?" Tea asked in horror.

"Yep, and there's not a thing we can do about it," Tristan grumbled.

They watched the gang of bullies advance forward towards Sheperd, who showed no expression. Yugi noticed, however, that Sheperd had cocked his head when the bullies were almost all the way across the courtyard. He had stopped reading and had froze. When the bullies where only a yard away, Sheperd put down his book and stood up.

"Is he crazy?" Joey asked.

"What does he think he's doin'?" Tristan agreed.

"So, you're the new kid everyone's talking about, huh?" the leader prompted.

"Yes, I guess I am," Sheperd agreed.

"Well, we are the Pounders," the leader told Sheperd. "And we make a tradition that the new kid gets a beatin' on his first lunch period."

"Well, I'll tell ya," Sheperd replied to the threat, "you're going to have to better about sneaking up than you did a couple of minutes ago. Actually, to tell you the truth, it was a disgrace."

"Oh man, we've got a loony," Joey moaned.

"Why you little," the leader growled and came at Sheperd like he was going to punch him, and punch him hard.

But Sheperd simply waited until the boy was almost at him and then he moved out of the way. The guy fell flat on his face.

Yugi noticed a difference in this Sheperd. He wasn't at all like he was before. Before, he was expressionless, with stern, sad eyes. But now, he had a smirk, not a very big one, but a smirk nonetheless and a stern, unforgiving look in his eye.

"Would you like to try that again?" Sheperd asked.

The guy got back up onto his feet and came at Sheperd again. But this time, Sheperd jammed his elbow into the guy's stomach and tossed him aside like it was nothing. Then, Sheperd grabbed the guy by his collar and slammed him up against the tree.

"Now you listen to me, and listen carefully, you leave me a lone or I swear I'll do a lot worse," Sheperd threatened in a low, growling tone.

"Alright, I will, just let me go," whimpered the bully.

Sheperd had a reluctant look in his eye, and slowly he put the guy down and released him. The guy scrambled away as fast as he could, with the rest of his gang behind him. Sheperd snorted in satisfaction and disgust.

"Wow, he's got Jaga scared of him," Joey mused.

No one else said anything. They couldn't.

/Yami/

Yes?

/You were right, there is something different about him/


	2. Explanation

Chapter 2

Explanation

The next day at school, Yugi tried to avoid Sheperd's eyes. During class, he talked to Yami.

/Yami, I know I've seen him some place before, but I can't place where/

Around town, maybe? the pharaoh suggested.

/No, it wasn't local/

On TV?

Yugi thought about it, then remembered the night that they watched Star Search.

You're, right! It was on TV! Star Search I believe. He was the 14 year old, pro piano player, named Menno, I think

So why is he going by Sheperd here? Yami pondered.

/I don't know. Maybe he's trying to hide his identity/

Why would he do that?

/Hmmmm.../ was the spiky haired teen's reply as he went into thought.

The bell rang for lunch and everyone flooded out of the classroom. Yugi was the last out as he walked slowly so he could think. At lunch, he got his meal and sat down with his friends. Then he noticed Sheperd sitting out under the same tree he did yesterday, a lone.

"Hey guys, I'm going to sit somewhere else today," Yugi said all of a sudden.

His friends looked at him in shock.

"Why?" Joey asked.

"It's, um, to help some one else," Yugi replied. "See you in class."

And with that, Yugi got up and walked out of the lunchroom.

"That's our Yugi, always thinking of someone else besides himself," Tristan stated.

Yugi walked out onto the grass of the courtyard. He saw Sheperd sitting under the tree, reading the same black book as he was yesterday.

"Um, hello," Yugi said timidly, looking down at Sheperd.

"What do you want?" Sheperd asked dryly.

"I was, um, wondering if I could sit by you," Yugi stammered.

"Sure, why not? My life couldn't get any worse," Sheperd replied.

Yugi sat down. He ate in silence while Sheperd read.

"I, um, saw you on Star Search like, what was it, two, three months ago?" Yugi broke the silence. "Didn't they call you Menno?"

At this, Sheperd jumped up and grabbed Yugi by the collar and shoved him up against the tree like he did the other guy yesterday. He looked hard into Yugi's eyes, at though he were searching for something. Then, as if he had found it, he slowly relaxed. His grip loosened and he let go of little Yugi. Yugi sat wide eyed and shaken up. He was actually shaking. Now he understood why the other guy was so afraid of him. Sheperd was like a ticking time bomb that could blow any second.

"What did you do that for?" Yugi asked after his heart had gotten back to its usual steady beat.

Sheperd looked around.

"I can't explain here," Sheperd told him quietly. "I need a more secure place to talk."

"Um, if you don't mind my friends and my grandfather listening, then you could come to my house," Yugi told him.

"How many friends do you have?" Sheperd growled.

Yugi thought for a second.

"Three," he replied.

"Fine, I'll meet you in front of the school after school," Sheperd told him.

Then, Sheperd got up and walked off. Yugi watched him for a second and finished his lunch and went back to class. He wrote a note before class and left a copy on each of his friend's desks. It read:

_I talked to Sheperd at lunch today. He was the 14-year-old pro piano player we saw on Star Search a couple of months ago. I asked him why he, um, almost hurt me. I'll explain after class. He said that he would explain in the Game Shop after school. Talk to you after class._

_Yugi_

After class, in the hall, Yugi explained what had happened at lunch.

"Man, he looks mellow, but he's not," Joey stated.

The group walked out of the front doors. They saw Sheperd leaning up against a tree, reading the same black book as before.

"Would he give that book a rest?" Joey grumbled.

"Hey, just because you can't read doesn't mean he doesn't have the right to," Tristan teased.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Joey fought back.

"Okay guys, break it up," Tea butted in.

They walked over to Sheperd.

"Hey Sheperd," Yugi greeted.

Sheperd looked up.

"Hello," he answered in a low tone.

"I don't think we got properly introduced," Yugi stated. "You kind of startled me at lunch today."

"Sorry," Sheperd apologized.

"It's okay. Anyway, I'm Yugi," Yugi told him. "These are my friends Joey, Tea, and Tristan," Yugi said, pointing to each of his friends in turn.

"It's nice to meet all of you," Sheperd nodded his head politely.

"And if you're ready, let's go to the Kame Game shop, which is also my house," Yugi stated.

They all walked in silence. The gang felt uneasy around Sheperd, and Sheperd felt uneasy around the gang. It was sort of like there was a barrier between them. And they all knew what it was. They finally got to the Game Shop and went to Yugi's room.

"Okay Sheperd, tell us why you're here," Joey told him.

Sheperd sat down on the bed and held his head in his hands.

He sighed and began, "It all started about two months ago, when I went onto Star Search. It's true, I won the whole thing. But it did more harm than good. These strange scientists found where I live and they came for me. They caught me, but barely, and took me to this lab. I managed to escape before they could do anything, but then they captured my little brother, Eric. They want to do these dangerous experiments on me. They say that if I don't come to them, my brother'll be harmed. I've been running for a couple of weeks now. I came to Domino because it seemed like an unusual place for me to be. It probably won't be long before they find me. I'm only going to be here temporarly. But death is catching up with my brother, and me. What worries me most is they'll kill him before long. I'm sorry about what I did at lunch, Yugi. It's just, if anyone calls me by my first name right now, I think they're working for the lab. And if some one that is working for the lab is listening, they'll find me faster than you can say, Menno Sheperd."

"Sounds sort of like Kaiba," Joey mumbled. "With the brother and all. Even the smart factor," he added.

"Well, do you need a place to stay?" Yugi asked.

"Yes," Sheperd replied.

"You could stay here until you're ready to go," Yugi suggested.

"Thank you," Sheperd told him.

"So, where are you from?" Tristan asked.

"Wolf Valley," Sheperd replied.

"That sounds interesting, could you tell us a little bit about it?" Tea told Sheperd.

Sheperd and Yugi's friends migrated to the living room as Yugi stayed behind.

/Yami/

Yes?

/I need your advice/

Okay

/What should I do about Sheperd? I mean, he seems like he's in a lot of trouble/

What does your heart tell you to do?

/It tells me, that I need to help him in anyway I can/

Then do that

/But I sense that it will get me, and my friends, in a lot of trouble/

However... Yami knew he had more to say.

/However I'm willing to take that risk/


	3. Sheperd's thoughts

Chapter 3

Sheperd's Thoughts

Yugi showedSheperd to his room.

"Here, unfortunately, it's the only room we have left," Yugi apologized.

The room was in the attic. Grandpa had changed it into a guest room, the only guest room in the house. It had a bed, couch, small boom box, and it's own little sink. It had a hard wood floor and a single, oval rug in the middle of the floor. It was small, but homey.

"It's just fine," Sheperd told Yugi.

"I'm glad you approve, and I'm glad Grandpa agreed," Yugi told Sheperd.

The tension between the two had disappeared after Sheperd had given him an explanation. Yugi still felt a little jumpy around Sheperd, but he was actually beginning to like the victim of circumstance.

"Yugi, Sheperd, dinner's ready," Grandpa called.

Yugi and Sheperd went down the stairs and sat down for dinner. Yugi noticed that Sheperd barely even touched his food. He finished maybe one fourth, if he was lucky.

"Sheperd, aren't you hungry?" Yugi asked.

"Not really, I've got things on my mind," Sheperd replied.

Actually, Sheperd didn't eat that much anyway. But his stomach was in knot right now as he thought of what might happen to Eric. After dinner, Sheperd disappeared into the attic room.

_I've got to come up with a plan, _thought Sheperd _I've got to find a way to get Eric back, without putting myself in danger._

Sheperd lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as he thought. There had to be a way. But how? How could he get Eric back?

He knew what they wanted. They wanted to get him back and hook him up to all those machines and inject medicines and poisons, you name it, and they wanted to put it into Sheperd's body. And why? For their own cruel enjoyment, for their stupid experiments. They wanted to find out his body works. Sheperd was hardly ever sick, a genius, very strong despite his tall, lanky body, and he had reflexes like a cat, eyes like a hawk, and ears like a dog. His sense of smell wasn't that great, and his sense of taste wasn't very good either, but everything else, including his sense of touch, was very keen. His only fault was that he had depression lapses. Basically, they wanted to find out his mind worked. They wanted to study Sheperd to try and enhance the senses of others, but probably at the cost of Sheperd's life. They had just started testing Sheperd when he had escaped. It wasn't high tech, Sheperd didn't have the money to buy a high tech laptop, or even the parts to make one, not that he didn't have the knowledge. No, he simply found the air duct, reprogrammed the security so that it wouldn't detect him. He fooled the security using one of their own computers, one that didn't even have the latest software on it, it was still using Windows '98, but he pulled it off. Then he crawled out through the air duct. He laid low for a couple of days and returned to his apartment to find, to his horror, his brother missing. And a note on his chair.

Sheperd pulled out the note from his pocket. He looked at it.

_Yep, _he thought, _that is defiantly Masuka's hand writing._

The note said that if he wanted to see his brother alive and well again, he best return to the lab. Sheperd had told himself that there is no way that he is going to let them stick another needle in his body. But he had to get his brother back.

Sheperd had been on the run for two weeks strait now, he guessed, therefore he hadn't gotten much rest. He had been to twelve towns and cities in fourteen days. The only sleep he had gotten was in cars that let him hitch-hike, but that was usually only a couple of mintues. Sheperd hoped that Domino would buy him enough time to devise a plan. But with only himself, he didn't stand a chance. He needed a new tactic, something else. Something he hadn't thought of.

Sheperd had nearly fallen asleep, unintentionally, when a knock at the trap door that lead to the attic interrupted Sheperd's dozy thoughts.

"Yes?" he answered irratably.

"I was just wondering if you had any stuff," came Yugi's reply as he stuck his head through the trap door.

"Nope, I don't have anything but what's on my back and what's in my pockets, which is ten dollars in one dollar bills, two dollars in change, a picture of my brother, and one other personal item," Sheperd replied.

"How'd you get a school uniform if you just got here?" Yugi asked.

"Take away the tie and school crest and my school uniform looks just yours," Sheperd replied as if it was obvious.

"Oh," Yugi replied.

Yugi crawled out of the entrance to the attic and sat on the floor. Sheperd looked back at the ceiling and closed his eyes. Yugi studied Sheperd carefully before speaking again.

"Are you okay? You seem quiet, even for a quiet person," Yugi stated.

Sheperd opened his eyes and looked at Yugi.

"I'm just thinking about a whole lot of stuff," Sheperd said. "By the way, what do you have in the line of music?"

"I've got some rock CDs, soundtracks, and instrumentals," Yugi replied.

"Can you bring up one of your instrumentals?" Sheperd asked.

"Sure," Yugi replied.

He went to his room to get one of his favorites, but when he came back he found Sheperd asleep. Yugi smiled slightly. Sheperd looked his age when he was asleep.

Yugi left the CD on the table by the boom box and queitly left the room.

Good call Yugi Yami's voice told Yugi.

/About what?/ Yugi asked.

Letting him sleep, I sense that he will need his strength. Of course, I also sense that he doesn't have much left

/I would guess so too, the time's only 7:30/

Very early Yami agreed.

Yugi went to his room to read.

You still going to help him?

/Yep/


	4. Help

Chapter 4

Help

Yugi woke the next morning very early. He just couldn't sleep for some reason. So, he got up and dressed and went down stairs. Grandpa had just started making breakfast.

"Good morning Yugi, you're up early," Grandpa greeted.

"Couldn't sleep," Yugi informed.

"Ah, well since you're up, want to help with breakfast?" Grandpa asked.

"Sure," Yugi said.

After breakfast was made, Yugi went up to the attic and knocked on the trap door. When there was no reply, Yugi opened the door and stuck his head in. Sheperd was still fast asleep. He had rolled onto his side with his back facing Yugi. Yugi sighed. He didn't want to wake Sheperd up, but he knew that it had to be done. He walked over to Sheperd's bedside.

"Sheperd, wake up," Yugi told the sleeping teen, shaking him gently.

After a couple of mintues, Yugi sucessfully got Sheperd up. Sheperd groggily walked down the stairs to the breakfast table and sat down.

"Would you like something to eat?" Grandpa asked.

"No thank you, but I would like some coffee please, if you've got some," Sheperd replied, the tiredness of his body showing in his voice.

Grandpa grabbed a mug from the shelf and filled it with the warm, black liquid and handed it to Sheperd. Sheperd took it, stuidied it for a second, and then took a long sip from it. He felt the liquid run down his throat smoothly, like water down a water fall. It was the first time he had had anything warm in what seemed like forever. But he was far too tired to notice it much. His lack of sleep was catching up to him. Sheperd almost fell asleep at breakfast. He got through school okay, but when he got to Yugi's house, he went upstairs and collasped on the bed in the attic in a peaceful sleep. A couple of hours passed and there was no sigh of Sheperd.

/Yami/

Yes?

/Do you think Sheperd's okay?/

There was a pause.

Yes, yes I think he is okay

Yugi didn't reply. Dinner came and Sheperd finally crawled out of the attic. He looked like a mess, but he looked rested.

"Evening," Grandpa greeted.

"Evening," Sheperd greeted back.

There wasn't much talk during dinner, and afterwards, Sheperd disappeared into the attic once again. Yugi decieded to talk to him, now that he was up. Yugi went to the attic and knocked on the trap door.

"Come in," Sheperd replied.

Yugi opened the door and stuck his head in. He pulled himself up and sat on the floor.

"How are you feeling?" Yugi asked.

Sheperd looked at Yugi strangely for a second, and then replied with a slight smile, "Much better, thank you."

Yugi sat on the couch while Sheperd laid on the bed, the instrumental music Yugi had brought up earlier playing softly in the background. Yugi and Sheperd were silent for a moment, then Yugi spoke.

"So, what's your plan?" he asked timidly.

"Huh?" Sheperd looked at Yugi in shock, obivously not expecting this question, then he replied softly, and almost sadly, "I don't have one. There's nothing more I can do. I'm racing time. I don't have much left. I've thought of everything it seems like, and none of them will work. There MUST be SOMETHING I'm not thinking of. Something that will turn the tide. That will allow me to get my brother back. But what?"

Sheperd broke off into thought again. Yugi looked at Sheperd.

"I'm willing to help you," Yugi stated suddenly. "And I think that Joey would be too."

Sheperd was silent for a second, and then he muttered a thank you under his breath.

"Do you have a computer?" Sheperd asked Yugi.

"Yeah, it's downstairs," Yugi nodded.

The two went to the computer and Sheperd acessed the internet. Pulling up a website, he showed Yugi a map.

"What is this?" Yugi asked.

"This is a map of the lab that I was taken captive in, and this is were they are holding my brother," Sheperd explained.

"Whoa, big place," Yugi murmured.

"Since we have three people, I've got an idea," Sheperd smirked.

"Really?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, here's what we'll do," Sheperd explained.


	5. Author's note

Quick Author's Note:

To fill you in on a couple things real quck like, the name of the song that Sheperd played at the beginning of the story is called Paradigm Shift by Calvin Jones.

Sheperd, or Menno as he's usually called, is a character in my orginal work, Guardains. He's the main character. I can't tell you too much about him other than the fact that I've had a lot of time to think out all the little quirks in him.

See, told you this would be quick.


	6. Let's go

Chapter 5

Let's Go

Sheperd, Yugi, and Joey all got up early and met out at the park.

"So, uh, how are we gonna get there?" Joey asked.

"Watch and learn," Sheperd smirked.

He lead them to a parking lot. There were tens of thousands of cars. He went to each car and tried the door. None opened. He went to car after car after car trying to open each one until finally, with a victorious click, opened.

"Ah, finally," Sheperd smiled. "Hop in."

Joey and Yugi looked at the car. It was a rough Jeep. It looked as though it may have been through some swamp lands lately.

"Are you sure this is legal?" Yugi asked, plopping himself in the passenger's seat.

"I know it's not, but we need to stretch the rules a little," Sheper stated, bending down to the wiring in the steering wheel. "Besides, we'll return it when we're done."

Joey, who was now in the back seat, and Yugi both exchanged nervous glances.

"Duh, maybe we should walk," Joey suggested.

"Do you know how far it is from here to Wolf Valley?" Sheperd asked, not looking up from his work.

"No," Joey stated.

"It's about a two hour drive," Sheperd stated. "It took me longer because I made detours. Some of them on purpose, others, not. But it would take us a lot longer on foot."

"What are you doing?" Yugi wondered.

"Don't worry about it, I know what I'm doing," Sheperd reassured him.

A couple of more seconds passed before the car started. Sheperd raised himself into the driver's seat with a proud smirk.

"Hold on, 'cause here we go!" Sheperd told the two passengers as he pressed downt the gas petal.

The wheels spun a little and then, sped forward. Sheperd guided the car out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

"I think I need to lay down," Joey stated as he stretched out on the back seat.

There was silence until Joey's snoring came to their ears.

"Sheperd, is this such a good idea?" Yugi asked.

"I don't know, but it's the only chance we've got," Sheperd replied, fixing his eyes on the road.

"I understand he's your brother and all, but why go to the great lengths to save him?" Yugi asked.

"I've had a hard life, and he's the only thing that actually pulled me through sometimes," Sheperd explained.

"Well, how bad could they be?" Yugi asked.

IF ONLY YOU KNEW YUGI, IF ONLY YOU KNEW, Sheperd thought.

Pretty soon, Yugi fell to sleep too. But Sheperd couldn't sleep. Not only because he was driving, but because he wasn't tired. He blood was rushing. This was it, and he was ready.


End file.
